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Social Fears (social + fear)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences75%

Selected Abstracts

The prognosis and incidence of social phobia in an elderly population.

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 1 2010
A 5-year follow-up
Karlsson B, Sigström R, Waern M, Östling S, Gustafson D, Skoog I. The prognosis and incidence of social phobia in an elderly population. A 5-year follow-up. Objective:, To examine the prognosis and incidence of social fears and phobia in an elderly population sample followed for 5 years. Method:, A general population sample (N = 612) of non-demented men (baseline age 70) and women (baseline age 70 and 78,86) was investigated in 2000,2001 and in 2005,2006 with semi-structured psychiatric examinations including the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale, and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Social phobia was diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria. Results:, Among nine individuals with DSM-IV social phobia in 2000, 5 (55.6%) had no social fears in 2005, and 1 (11.1%) still met the criteria for DSM-IV social phobia. Among individuals without DSM-IV social phobia in 2000 (N = 603), 12 (2.0%) had DSM-IV social phobia in 2005. Conclusion:, These findings challenge the notion that social phobia is a chronic disorder with rare occurrence in old age. [source]

Epidemiology and natural course of social fears and social phobia,

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2003
H.-U. Wittchen
Objective: To summarize epidemiological studies providing data on prevalence, incidence, comorbidity, natural course, risk factors and consequences of social phobia (SP). Method: Data from cross-sectional studies and prospective longitudinal studies in particular are considered. Results: These studies portray SP as a frequent mental disorder, which begins typically in early adolescence, and is highly comorbid with other anxiety disorders, as well as secondary depression and substance abuse disorders. Several possible risk factors have already been identified for the onset and unfavorable course of SP; some of them have been tested in prospective longitudinal studies. SP is a chronic disorder when compared with other mental disorders and when subclinical symptomatic levels are considered. Impairment caused by SP is considerable and increases over a patient's life span. The negative impact of SP is not only reflected in subjective well-being and reduced quality of life but also in social role functioning, and it impacts negatively on career progression. Conclusion: Prospective longitudinal studies in representative samples drawn from the general population provide information that allows the overall direct and indirect costs of the disorder (treatment costs, disability, social welfare) to be determined, and enables an improvement in long-term care strategies as well as preventive efforts to be established. [source]

Drinking to Cope in Socially Anxious Individuals: A Controlled Study

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 12 2003
Suzanne E. Thomas
Background: Several hypotheses exist to account for the higher than normal rate of alcoholism in individuals with high trait anxiety (or anxiety disorders). Most of these suggest that the practice of drinking alcohol to reduce anxiety leads to an increased risk of alcoholism in vulnerable individuals. The first assumption of the hypothesis is that anxious individuals use alcohol to cope with their anxiety. Few studies have examined this issue systematically, and none have used a nonanxious matched control group. Methods: Twenty-three individuals with high social anxiety and 23 nonsocially anxious matched controls were included in the study. Groups were similar on demographic variables and alcohol use. All participants were queried regarding the use of alcohol to cope, the practice of avoiding social situations if alcohol was not available, and the degree of relief attained by alcohol. Participants also were asked about using alcohol in 11 specific situations. Results: The socially anxious group was significantly more likely than controls to report using alcohol to feel more comfortable in social situations and to avoid social situations if alcohol was unavailable. They also reported a greater degree of relief of anxiety from alcohol. Exploratory analyses revealed that socially anxious individuals reported using alcohol more to cope with social interactions than with social performance situations. Conclusions: Individuals high in social anxiety deliberately drink alcohol to cope with their social fears. They report that alcohol is moderately effective at reducing their anxiety, which is seemingly sufficient to allow them to endure social situations. The data support the first assumption of the self-medication hypothesis,that alcohol is used to reduce social discomfort in socially anxious individuals; however, the study was not designed to address the veracity of the self-medication hypothesis as a whole. Results can help guide future studies that examine the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol. [source]

The Interlocutor's Dilemma: The Place of Strategy in Dialogic Theory

COMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 1 2008
William J. White
This essay discusses the implications of a concept of strategy for dialogical perspectives on communication. It begins by locating in the dialogical perspective a "longing for the other" that equates communication with communion or mutuality. It draws from the theory of communicative action of Jürgen Habermas to discuss strategy as the "other" of communication and explores the paradox of Habermas's idea of communicative rationality in terms of the prisoner's dilemma of game theory. The essay considers the extent to which the strategic and the dialogic are woven together in communication and argues that the communicative orientations of interlocutors at any given instance are rightfully regarded as the product of situational logics conditioned by social and cultural commitments extant in that instance. Given that the impetus for strategy stems in part from concerns about social solidarity in the face of the exigences of everyday life, the essay concludes by directing attention to the interplay of the management of social fears and the expression of otherness in shaping the course of communicative encounters. Résumé Le dilemme de l,interlocuteur : La place de la stratégie dans la théorie dialogique Cet article commente les implications d'un concept de stratégie pour des perspectives dialogiques sur la communication. Il localise d,abord dans la perspective dialogique un « grand désir pour l'autre » qui compare la communication à la communion ou l,interdépendance. Il s'inspire de l,ouvrage Theory of Communicative Action de Jürgen Habermas pour traiter la stratégie comme étant « l'autre » de la communication, et il explore le paradoxe de l,idée habermassienne de la rationalité communicationnelle en lien avec le dilemme du prisonnier de la théorie des jeux. L'article explore à quel point le stratégique et le dialogique sont liés dans la communication, et soumet que les orientations communicationnelles des interlocuteurs dans un cas donné sont légitimement perçues comme étant le produit d,une logique situationnelle conditionnée par des engagements sociaux et culturels existants dans ce cas. Puisque l'impulsion pour la stratégie provient en partie de préoccupations envers la solidarité sociale en dépit des exigences de la vie quotidienne, l,article conclut en se concentrant sur l'interaction entre la gestion des peurs sociales et l,expression de l'altérité dans l'influence de l'évolution des rencontres communicationnelles. Abstract Das Dilemma des Gesprächspartnern: Ein Platz für Strategie in der Dialogtheorie Dieser Aufsatz diskutiert die Implikationen eines Konzepts der Strategie für dialogische Perspektiven in der Kommunikation. Es beginnt mit der Verortung innerhalb der dialogischen Perspektive eines "Ersehnen des Anderen", welches Kommunikation gleichsetzt mit Kommunion oder Gegenseitigkeit. Das Konzept, basierend auf der Theorie des Kommunikativen Handelns von Jürgen Habermas, diskutiert Strategie als das "andere" der Kommunikation und untersucht das Paradox der Habermasschen Idee einer Kommunikativen Rationalität im Sinne des Gefangenendilemma der Spieltheorie. Dieser Aufsatz berücksichtigt das Ausmaß zu welchem das Strategische und das Dialogische in der Kommunikation miteinander verbunden sind und argumentiert, dass kommunikative Orientierungen von Gesprächspartnern bei jeder Gelegenheit als ein Produkt der situationalen Logik, beeinflusst durch spezifische soziale und kulturelle Verpflichtungen dieser Gelegenheit, gesehen werden müssen. Unter der Annahme, dass der Impetus für Strategie teilweise aus den Bedenken hinsichtlich sozialer Solidarität im Angesicht der Notwendigkeiten des täglichen Lebens stammt, lenkt dieser Aufsatz am Ende die Aufmerksamkeit auf das Spiel zwischen dem Management sozialer Ängste und dem Ausdruck des Anderssein im Gestalten kommunikativer Begegnungen. Resumen El Dilema del Interlocutor: El Espacio de la Estrategia en la Teoría Dialógica Este ensayo discute las implicancias de un concepto de estrategia para las perspectivas dialógicas en la comunicación. Comienza localizando la perspectiva dialógica como una "nostalgia por el otro" que equipara a la comunicación con la comunión ó la mutualidad. Recurre a la Teoría de la Acción Comunicativa de Jürgen Habermas para discutir la estrategia del "otro" de la comunicación, y explora la paradoja de la idea de racionalidad comunicativa de Habermas en términos del dilema del prisionero de la teoría del juego. El ensayo considera hasta qué punto la estratégica y la dialógica están entretejidas juntas en la comunicación, y arguye que las orientaciones comunicativas de los interlocutores en una instancia dada son percibidas justamente como el producto de lógicas situacionales condicionadas por los compromisos sociales y culturales existentes en esa instancia. Dado que el ímpetu por la estrategia implica en parte una preocupación por la solidaridad social en la cara de las exigencias cotidianas, el ensayo concluye direccionando la atención hacia la relación entre el manejo de los miedos sociales y la expresión del otro que da forma al curso de los encuentros comunicativos. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source]